Roanoke Rapids and its taxpayers were victims of a scam by Randy Parton and his partners to induce the community into building a multi-million theater with little chance of the entertainment venue succeeding, according to a lawsuit filed in behalf of a local resident Thursday.
Sphere: Related ContentWhile admitting his own complicity in the Randy Parton Theater fiasco, Councilman Jon Baker says the proposed 5-cent property tax hike is a necessary evil and he has lost faith in the mayor and all but one of his fellow council members.
Sphere: Related ContentState records obtained by The News & Observer of Raleigh show Gov. Mike Easley’s industry-hunting trip to Italy cost more than $170,000.
Sphere: Related ContentIn North Carolina to date, attempts to pass 20 land transfer tax initiatives and 37 sales tax increases have been made. In 49 cases, the voters have overwhelmingly voted against the tax increases. Of the 20 attempts to pass a land transfer all 20 were killed in their tracks. Of the sales tax increase attempts 29 of the 37 attempts have been stopped by voters disgusted with ever rising taxes and spendthrift politicians. In the recent vote in Nash County voters rejected the increase, despite the emotional “for the children” pleas, by a margin of roughly two to one.
In light of this clear mandate against higher taxes, elected officials and proponents of higher taxes have continued to make open threats to raise other taxes or to put this tax issue back on the ballot. Voters in Nash and other counties should not dismiss those threats lightly. We can expect even more desperate and emotional pleas to be plastered in the newspapers and on TV. You can also expect the money hungry politicians, nonprofits, and public/private partners who thrive on tax dollars to be lurking behind the faces of innocent children as they attempt to sugar coat further attempts to raise taxes.
Proponents have charged that growth rates demand new capital projects, the state Medicaid deal is forcing the county to make up revenue, and that nearly $100 million dollars of capital projects must be undertaken now. The sales pitch is 80% for education with the remaining being spent on county and community projects. The truth as revealed in a John Locke Foundation brief is that growth in the county is nominal while revenue increased 9% annually, the student population in public schools is expected to decline by more than 3%, and that the county will come out $1.7 million dollars to the good because of the state assumption of the Medicaid burden.
Proponents of the .25% sales tax increase project $2.8 million dollars in revenue annually with which they can undertake capital projects. With a capital projects list in excess of $100 million dollars it doesn’t take much deduction to realize that there is great debt planned for the citizens.
With fuel and grocery prices continually rising, tolls being planned for the highways, the dollar being inflated out of existence, and the cost of living in general spiraling out of control it behooves politicians to cut spending and shelve all the feel good projects while focusing on only the necessities.
It’s easy to tax an area into poverty but it’s impossible to tax an area into prosperity.
Sphere: Related ContentThe statistic did not meet what economists consider the classic definition of a recession, which is a retraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if modestly.
Sphere: Related ContentLast night, we were honored to have Dr. Michael Sanera from the John Locke Foundation to discuss the proposed sales tax increase in Nash County. If you’d like to read the report we were discussing, please download the PDF here.
Does Nash need a sales tax increase? (PDF 296 k)
Also we discussed how the county spends our money “educating” the public, which usually turns out to be a promotion for a YES vote. On the Building For Education website, www.buildingforeducation.com web site, you’ll see “Vote for the Kids”, which is an obvious promotion of a YES vote. The phone number goes to a Nash Public Utilities Office. Clearly, this is not kosher with the law, according to Dr. Sanera, and crosses the line from education to promotion. I’m researching this for sure and will hope to have it posted before the vote happens. Keep reading…
If you read the Q & A Page on the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners web site, http://www.ncacc.org/revenueauthority-q&a.html, you’ll see this paragraph.
Question: Can a county spend public money educating citizens on issues related to the local option revenue sources and the referendum process?
Answer: Yes. Similar to an election for a general obligation bond, a county may spend money to educate the public on issues related to either of the new local option revenue sources. However, a county may not spend money asking the voters to approve a sales tax or land transfer tax referendum.
So, do you think the digital LED billboards (which are at least $1000/month and they’re being advertised on at least 2 billboards), bumper stickers, signs and the web site, which link to a Nash County Public office phone line constitute “asking” for a YES vote? I think it does…
Click the image to see the image being used for the overall “education” campaign.
The Building For Education Committee needs to find a new phone number that isn’t taxpayer-funded to answer questions about promoting a sales tax increase.
Vote NO on May 6 in regards to the Sales Tax Increase for Nash County.
Sphere: Related ContentIn ways both large and small, Americans are doing without. Squeezed by lofty prices for gasoline, food and other products, worried about their jobs and rattled by talk of a recession, people are hunkering down.
Sphere: Related ContentNEW ORLEANS - President Bush has replied to criticism from Democratic presidential candidates and says that now is not the time to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or to walk away from the accord.
Sphere: Related ContentAccording to the John Locke Foundation, Nash County has at $18 million in available funds.
View their report by clicking this link.
http://www.johnlocke.org/policy_reports/display_story.html?id=158
A lack of expanded drilling and refining is driving (and will continue to drive) gas prices to record levels.
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